Soraya Post of the Swedish Feminist Initiative is on course to break through the 4% electoral threshold needed to secure a representation in Brussels.

The first MEP representing a feminist party is likely to be elected to the European parliament next week, as women's rights feature more prominently in election campaigns across 28 countries and rightwingers launch a backlash against gender issues.

Women are expected to continue to make up around a third of European parliament's 751 members after the elections, but the overall figure masks big gaps between countries and a right-left political divide.

Feminist parties in Sweden, France and Germany are contesting seats, with the Swedish Feminist Initiative on course to break through the 4% electoral threshold needed to secure a representation in Brussels.

"The figures are looking very good. They have risen over a short time," said Soraya Post, who would become the party's MEP. "People are taking a stand because they see a risk with racist and fascist parties, and they want to defend equality. Democracy is in danger, that's what people realise. But it's been a long journey. We should have reached beyond this in a modern society."

Feminist Initiative is campaigning on the issues of abortion, equal pay and equality regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability and age. Its demands include commissioners devoted to gender equality, race and discrimination. "The European parliament needs to have its eyeglasses on," said Post.

Women formed 16% of the first European parliament, elected in 1979. Since then, the proportion has increased steadily to 35% in the current parliament. Nearly all countries have a higher proportion of women MEPs thanin their own parliaments. Estonia has a 50:50 gender balance among its MEPs, but women make up less than 20% of its legislature.

Finland has the highest proportion of women MEPs, with over 60% of its 13 members.

Germany has 41 women among its 99 MEPs, compared with 33% in its national parliament. Britain is just below the EU average, with 33% representation among its 73 MEPs compared with 22% in the House of Commons.

"A third isn't enough, but it's a lot better than most parliaments," said Mary Honeyball, a Labour MEP for London and the UK's representative on the European parliament's women's rights and gender equality committee. "And once you get to a third, you reach a critical mass. It stops being unusual to have women chairs of committees and other top positions. We're getting there."

Honeyball predicted that the overall gender balance in the European parliament would improve slightly after next week's elections, and that for the first time Labour would have more women MEPs than men. Among the party's candidates, 53% are women compared with 48% for the Greens, 34% for the Lib Dems, 31% for the Conservatives and 18% for Ukip.

Honeyball said, however, that it was crucial to look not just at the number of women candidates, but where they are placed on the party's list. "Having women on the list, but not at the top, is just making up the numbers."

Honeyball also said that there was a political divide in terms of women's representation, which was more important than the geographical one, in which countries in northern and western Europe tended to fare better than those in the south and east. "Parties on the left make more effort to ensure women's representation than parties of the right," she said.

Serap Altinisik of the Brussels-based European Women's Lobby agreed, identifying a rising feminist consciousness among voters accompanied by a political backlash against gender equality. "This is feeding into more progressive policies among left parties, while fuelling a backlash on the right," she said.

In France, Feministes pour une Europe Solidaire, which launched just last month and whose list of candidates includes women and men, has made the Spanish government's attempts to outlaw abortion a focus of its campaign.

"It's incredible that the EU can tell member states what to do on jobs, the economy and so on, but when a state tries to go back on a fundamental right for women, Europe says nothing. Incredible!" said Caroline de Haas, the organisation's leader.

"They say gender equality is important, but do nothing. People think we have achieved equality, but this is not behind us. We still have to fight for equal rights for men and women."

De Haas spent 15 years as a member of France's Socialist party, "trying to make it feminist. Now, for the first time, we are presenting ourselves as feminist in the election".

The strategy is misguided, according to Honeyball. "Feminist parties don't really work. You have to take gender issues as part of a whole. Feminist parties are great for raising issues, but in the end change will come through the mainstream. Otherwise you're just standing on the sidelines."

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• This article was amended on 21 May 2014. An earlier version said none of Malta's six MEPs were women. In fact three now are. The article was further amended on 22 May 2014 to correct the spelling of Serap Altinisik's name.